For those of you who know Paris well...

In practice, Versailles is a full day. It takes a while to get there and back, and the palace and grounds take time to explore. I would not expect to be back in Paris before 4 at best. That day would combine well with an evening cruise (it will be dark at 5.30, and the RER C train takes you straight from Versailles to the various cruise starting points).

Yes, three full days to = six 1/2 days and the same for Rome. The impulse is to try to "do it all" and I know that's not possible. The numerous 3 day itineraries just leave me overwhelmed, but I will just have to pare it all down to our own must sees.

Thanks for the input on Versailles/Seine cruise, that seems doable. I know it will make for a a quick tour of Versailles due to weather and time constraints, but we are ok with that.

So, with Balso's excellent advice about Versailles and Seine cruise, you have 2 full days (4 1/2 day segments) remaining. Make a list of your must see's and group them geographically. But bear in mind that many museums are closed on either Monday or Tuesday. So plan accordingly.

Thank you for the reminder about closures! It's time to get back into the swing of travel; I typically have a great deal more time to plan but I will get organized come hell or high water :}

Thank you for the suggestions for the boys and the link to the tour; much appreciated!
Thanks to all!

Why don't you have everyone read about a few different historical museums, the Cluny Médiévale museum, different kinds of shopping, monuments, neighborhoods (Marais, Canal Saint Martin, Montmartre), organized tours such as food tours or Walks of Paris tours, and then have each person choose one. Everyone gets a half day. And if you decided to split up for a segment, based on interests, it would still work. High school age boys could do some things on their own. I didn't list the big art museums based on what you said .

Napoleon’s Tomb and the military museum might be interesting for your family. I’d allocate 2-3 hours for a visit.

Thank you Bets and Donna, those are good suggestions. I'm getting both of the boys RS guides this week and setting them loose!

I recommend the Carnavalet Museum which tells the history of Paris. It was recently renovated and is wonderful. It’s in a former mansion, which is beautiful, and has a really good café outside in a lovely courtyard.

I agree that the best way to experience Paris is just to walk and explore. Especially along the river and in the Marais area (3rd, 4th arrondissement), Ile St Louis and Ile de la Cité (where Notre Dame is), the Latin Quarter (5th arrondissement) and St Germain area (6th arrondissement).

Don’t miss the Luxembourg Gardens in the 6th, my favorite place of all.

My son loves to shop for French clothes and the Marais is the most fun area for clothes shopping, and most fun area in general in our opinion. It’s one of the oldest parts of Paris, very charming, with lots of great stores, cafés, and Place des Vosges (don’t miss it). The big department stores aren’t fun imo, they’re just like here.

My sons did the same as teens, went off on their own and bought clothes as their souvenirs. They still do-- one just got a new PSG jersey last visit--and he's now in his forties. LOL

Do your sons enjoy football/soccer and/or rugby? If so, they could visit Stade de France @ a 30-min metro ride from Notre Dame, as a reference point.

I wonder if purchasing the Paris Museum Pass might be economical if you visit some of the sights mentioned, already. It includes the Arc de Triomphe which is fun to climb to the top and has a wonderful view of Paris; several science museums, a music museum, etc. It's not all art museums, but you might want to visit the Louvre--after all--it IS the Louvre!

https://www.parismuseumpass.fr/t-en.

Your sons might prefer the DK Eyewitness travel guide instead of or in addition to the Rick Steves guide. They are a quicker read (especially the Top 10 books) and they include a lot of good pictures that my teenager liked as a quick reference.

I also recommend a stop at the Jardin du Luxembourg. The Louvre has a LOT of non-art that everyone should enjoy.

I would be willing to skip the cruise and just spend my time walking. Personal preference. I have taken river cruises before, but it's really not necessary in Paris. You can get the same view by crossing over the various bridges as you walk along the river. That way you can see more neighborhoods and you can fit in another good restaurant :)

If the weather is clear and not too cold consider a bike tour. Fat Tire has a Paris Night Bike tour which included one hour Seine cruise as a break. Total time 4 hours. So much fun and fun guide. Just not sure what will be offered that time of year. Also highly recommend bike tour to Versailles. https://www.fattiretours.com/paris/tours/versailles-bike-tour/

My teens were museumed-out after about 2 hours in the Louvre.

I dragged them to St. Chapelle (my favorite church in Europe), expecting them to moan and groan. When we walked up the stairs into the chapel, my oldest literally gasped in awe. Made my heart so happy!! He was also pretty impressed by the machine guns that the guards outside were carrying. Ya never know what’s going to impress them!

I totally agree that Versailles is a full day.

Group your sites geographically:

1) Eiffel Tower and Napoleon’s tomb
2) St. Chapelle and the Louvre, Seine cruise at night
3) Latin Quarter walk & St. Germain area
4) Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysses, place de La Concorde

That’s 3 full, tiring days right there, when you include a full day for Versailles.

Thank you again for the tips and advice. I will look for those guides for the boys and budget some extra cash for shopping...they do love clothing as souvenirs! We are hoping to do a bike tour and one that includes a cruise sounds perfect as we hope to do that as well. A soccer game isn't going to work on this trip but would have been a great activity for the oldest if we had more time...this will be a whirlwind 3 days but we are all very excited. I'm making headway on getting organized thank goodness!

hey hey JKL
check out:
retro-tour.com
motorcycle with sidecar, thinking your boys would love it. look at classic or the great escape. totally different activity and see sight of the city.
discoverwalks.com/ paris or rome
many tours to check out. have fun
aloha

Le Louvre can be a difficult one for kids – and adults alike! It’s monumental, can be seen as intimidating, austere and “full of dusty stuff” as one teenager once told me, while wincing.

Before taking teenagers or young people on a visit to Le Louvre, a little ludique (educationally fun) prep work can work wonders and make Le Louvre a cool place to visit. It can also more widely serve as a useful info tool and entry about cultural Paris/France for kids. The latter who are more than able to do research on the Net, and parents shouldn’t hesitate to give them fun fact-finding missions.

There are different ways to approach that but linking Le Louvre to popular culture is a effective one IMO with inquisitive children.

When I was young (growing up in Paris in the 1950s-60s) we had a famous miniseries called “Belphégor, ou le fantôme du Louvre" (Belphegor, or the Phantom of the Louvre), based on the eponymous horror novel Belphégor (1927). It starred a couple of famous actors, such as the timeless Juliette Gréco who died recently (Gréco had many associations with the USA in particular, she was very close to the wave of American writers and artists who came to live in Paris/France after WWII, before the Beat Generation crew rocked up – so, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Chester Himes, Miles Davis etc. (she had a “passionate love affair” with the latter).

http://blogs.kcrw.com/music/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Miles-Davis-Juliette-Gr%C3%A9co.jpg

My parents did just that when I first visited Le Louvre, as a young teenager (with my school), they "briefed" me. It helped me understand the place better and French history. A remake of Belphegor, or the Phantom of the Louvre was made in 2001, shot mostly in Le Louvre, starring Sophie Marceau (haven’t seen it). It’s replete with ghosts, SF effects, magic and so on so that usually appeals to kids (they could watch the trailer).

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0214529/

More recently and more internationally, part of The Da Vinci Code (2006) was shot in Le Louvre.

https://almostginger.com/the-da-vinci-code-film-locations-paris/

You could always talk about that, the famous paintings seen in the film/in the promotional trailers etc. why Le Louvre is famous (former royal palace etc.) and the asides, the back stories, the trivia... The fact for example the Da Vinci Code production had to shoot at night. Tuesday is also an option for crews as Le Louvre is closed. You could introduce the fact that it costs a minimum of €40,000 a day to shoot in Le Louvre, and so on. Prior to the visit, say, a month before you could always devise a little quiz about Le Louvre based on all that.

In 2018, Beyoncé et Jay-Z shot their famous clip Apesht in Le Louvre (which reputedly waived the €50,000 a day fee for them):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbMqWXnpXcA

The Louvre website has a “trail”, here: https://www.louvre.fr/en/explore/visitor-trails/beyonce-and-jay-z-s-louvre-highlights
Based on that trail (The Winged Victory of Samothrace, or the Nike of Samothrace; Madonna with the Green Cushion; The Mona Lisa; The raft of the medusa etc.) you could ask kids to do a bit of research and present to their sibling/the rest of the family their favourite work of art that feature in the clip. You could ask them to find the translation in French for each artwork, etc.

JKL, referring to your second post, are you possibly treating this as "maybe the only time my children will be in Paris?" That is probably untrue. Relax and stroll around from attraction to attraction. Make a list of your own must-dos, and when necessary, book them - like the Eiffel Tower, so they don't cause more stress. I believe at least two hours at the Louvre is important. But you have to view it as a history and culture/life lesson, not a compulsory forced-march imposition by a Social Studies teacher. (Sorry, teachers ...) Then you go up the street for Angelina hot chocolate a l'Afriquaine. Before the Louvre, you visit the church across the street where the St. Bartholemew's Day Massacre began.

Just as one specific example, you need to have at least one stand-up breakfast in a local bar, instead of demanding eggs and bacon swim team training breakfast at the Hilton buffet! Have you read our host's free Travel Tips, top left?

What month of what year? Versailles has important outdoor attractions.

Thank you for the thoughtful and in depth replies. Our 3 days begin on Jan. 2, so I imagine Versailles will be a shorter visit than it might be when the gardens and fountains are on full display. The sidecar tour sounds very cool and I will definitely check that out!
We are taking a closer look at the Louvre as I know there is just too much to see, and we all will be about done after a couple of hours at best.

We certainly hope this is not our boys one and only trip to Paris. We want them to see as much of the world as they can, to give
them a greater understanding of the world in general...how to be better global citizens and to treat our planet with respect. I think it's important to see beyond our own little daily bubble. That said, we will cram in as much as possible in our short 3 days :}

You might be able to leverage this website to plan your 3-day itinerary in Paris:
https://www.visitacity.com/en/paris/itinerary-by-day/3?campaginid=418704168&adgroupid=1291926550847277&targetid=kwd-80745629938248:loc-190&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Paris%20Itineraries%20G-US-In-EUR&utm_term=what%20to%20do%20in%20paris%20for%203%20days&utm_content=3%20Days%20Itinerary%20-%20paris

Thank you Max!

Honestly, if you feel like art isn't really your family's #1 interest, just skip the Louvre (but check out the pyramid from the outside just for fun). Don't feel pressured to fit it in as a "must do" just because it is famous. I'd pick a different museum that is more of interest to you and others have given some great suggestions with Carnavalet and Invalides.
I also love to take a cooking class if the family is into food. A morning making croissants or macarons is a fun, family experience.
And do the Seine cruise! It's only an hourish and not that expensive. I recommend around dusk so you get half daylight, half nighttime views. If you are tired of walking and exploring, it is a nice way to bring the sights to you.

I agree with taking the cruise at dusk not dark. It isn’t very long, about an hour.

Thank you! We will def do dusk or dark to see the ET lit up!

I've taken tweens and teens to Paris the past two summers. Girls, but still.

Here are the things they seemed to like the most.

Galeries Lafayette. It's just over the top. Girls went crazy shopping but just seeing it is good too. And it's two blocks from ...

The Palais Garnier (Paris Opera House). Where the phantom lived in the basement. It has a very interesting history and is one of the world's greatest interior spaces. The grand reception hall is equal to the fanciest rooms at Versailles, and the Chagall ceiling in the performance space is one of the planet's greatest artistic statements. Gorgeous Beaux Arts building filled with beautiful sculpture. Do some reading or video watching ahead of time.

Sacre Coeur and Monmartre. So charming. Touristy, but worth it, and you can find interesting little nooks that aren't busy. Teens tend to congregate in the area, so our felt like they were where they were supposed to be.

Eifel Tower. Fun to look at from a distance, but I am over visiting it. The kids though, they love to be right there under and up on it.

I recently spent 2 full weeks in Paris with one day at Versailles. I know Versailles is important and I enjoyed my visit due to the excellence of a guide for the Palace and the visit to the Queen's Hamlet was a great countryside escape. However, if I had 3 days in Paris I would schedule the Phantom tour (I think they call it the Mystery tour) of the Palais Garnier and skip Versailles. The opulence of the Opera is more impressive than Versailles and it only takes about 2 hours to see everything and you don't have to leave Paris.

I also suggest perusing some youtube vidoes to see what sparks interest as far as neighborhoods and restaurants/cafes go. I like Corey Frye, Le Frenchies and France: Table & Vogage in particular.

I am a "fit it all in" kind of traveller, but I highly recommend some wandering and cafe sitting time in order to really soak in what Paris has to offer. Park sitting and cafe sitting time definitely needed.